Chris Waller believes both of his gallopers in the Cox Plate, Kolding and Humidor, will have to produce peak performances to be winning chances in the Moonee Valley showpiece. Waller is aiming for his fifth victory in the Cox Plate having trained the incomparable Winx to win four in a… Read More »
For the second year in a row, Steel Prince has won himself a start in the Melbourne Cup. Racing Victoria’s chief handicapper Greg Carpenter elected to penalise Steel Prince a kilogram for his win in Wednesday’s Geelong Cup, which has taken his weight to 53.5kg. This has catapulted the Anthony… Read More »
First-up specialist Jami Lady has a wide barrier to contend with at Doomben but her co-trainer Matt Hoysted is not conceding defeat. Jami Lady resumes from a spell in the Austrans Handicap, drawing awkwardly in barrier 10 of 15 from the tricky 1050 metre start. With only a short run… Read More »
Jason Warren is one of many trainers who will be hoping the predicted rain doesn’t fall before the running of the Manikato Stakes. His equation for his four-year-old mare Brooklyn Hustle is simple: if the track is rain-affected on Friday night she can’t win and if it isn’t, she can…. Read More »
Peltzer will contest his second $1 million race of the spring when he lines up in the Bondi Stakes but this time trainer Gerald Ryan expects a different result. The colt finished fifth to Ole Kirk in the $1 million Golden Rose at Rosehill two starts ago, that horse subsequently… Read More »
Ciaron Maher is excited about the prospect of having his first Cox Plate runners and he believes both gallopers, Sir Dragonet and Grandslam, are in with great chances. Maher said Sir Dragonet boasted world-class form, while Grandslam had the perfect three-year-old record to win and was not there to make… Read More »
Annabel Neasham has made a flying start to her training career and she is hoping to continue that momentum with her first juvenile runners. Neasham took out her trainers’ licence at the start of the season after a successful stint running the Sydney arm of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace’s… Read More »
Young trainer Will Freedman has only saddled up 20 runners since going out on his own but he has already shown promise with a metropolitan placegetter and four winners, including Zaunkonig in the Dubbo Cup. Formerly working with his father Richard at Rosehill, Freedman set up his solo Scone operation… Read More »
Calvin McEvoy believes Hey Doc is on track to win his second Manikato Stakes after two runs back from a spell but he envisages a different scenario in terms of how the horse might achieve it. Three years ago as a three-year-old, Hey Doc used his speed to lead throughout… Read More »
The Geelong Cup proved a triumph for the Anthony and Sam Freedman stable as they trained the quinella, with Steel Prince holding off imported stablemate Le Don De Vie. The win was a special one for Sam Freedman as it was his first Group win as a trainer. Freedman is… Read More »
Aidan O’Brien’s right-hand man in Australia, T J Comerford, has assessed Amory’s form going into the Cox Plate as being superior to that of the stable’s 2014 race winner Adelaide. Armory boasts strong international form lines and heads into Saturday’s race after finishing third in the Group One Irish Champion… Read More »
Fresh from winning the St Leger Stakes with Fun Fact, Bjorn Baker will look to keep his momentum rolling when he takes four live chances to Randwick. The Warwick Farm-based trainer has long had an affinity with the progeny of Written Tycoon and he hopes the stallion can produce another… Read More »
Amazingly, Perth’s leading owner Bob Peters will have his first Cox Plate runner when his star mare Arcadia Queen steps out at The Valley. However, Cox Plate day has been a happy hunting ground for him over the years with three of his mares winning the Tesio Stakes on the… Read More »
The Victorian government has reversed its decision to allow owners on course for two feature Moonee Valley race meetings following community pressure. Victorian Racing Minister Martin Pakula said he made a mistake in declaring he would permit a small number of owners trackside to watch their horses race. “The decision… Read More »
Caulfield Cup-winning jockey Mark Zahra has retained the mount on Verry Elleegant in the Melbourne Cup with James McDonald to ride stablemate Finche. McDonald has been the Chris Waller-trained mare’s regular partner in Sydney but unable to travel freely due to COVID-19 restrictions, he has missed her past two starts… Read More »
Emerging filly Elizabeel is rock-hard fit and trainer John Sargent believes she deserves a chance on the big stage in the $1 million Bondi Stakes at Randwick. Sargent said the filly had recovered superbly from her narrow third to Forbidden Love in the Reginald Allen Quality (1400m) on Saturday and… Read More »
Craig Williams compared Cox Plate veteran Humidor to another horse he had success on in the same race, Fields Of Omagh, saying both horses shared a love of the Moonee Valley track. Williams declared Humidor ready for Saturday’s Cox Plate after his impressive work at The Valley on Tuesday morning… Read More »
Matt Cumani can’t get over the strength of the Geelong Cup and as a result he regards it as a great test for his French import San Huberto, who will make his Australian debut in the race. “It’s such a strong edition. There’s plenty of European horses in it and… Read More »
In a Cox Plate shock, the Joseph O’Brien-trained Irish raider Buckhurst was relegated to first emergency by the Moonee Valley Racing Club committee before the final field was released. Part-owner Nick Williams said he found the decision extraordinary and could not understand the reasoning of the MVRC committee. Williams said… Read More »
Star New Zealander Melody Belle has been confirmed for a trip to Melbourne where she will have the chance to avenge her Mackinnon Stakes defeat. The mare posted Group One win number 12 in the Livamol Classic at Hawkes Bay on Saturday to earn her passage across the Tasman. Managing… Read More »
